2013 french quarter festival

Partying at French Quarter Fest can be serious work. If you’re looking to take a break there’s few places better than one of the French Quarter’s classic bars — and there’s no shortage of them.

We’ve highlighted a few of our favorites below, along with a couple of brand-new classics to add to the pantheon. Have some favorites of your own? Add them in the comments below and we’ll update the story.

If you're headed out to the French Quarter Festival this weekend, it's about time you got your itinerary down. Take a look at what's when with the complete festival schedule, plus links at the bottom of the post to our complete festival coverage and a map of where's it's at when you get there.

All kinds of music float through the French Quarter this weekend. The neighborhood is central to New Orleans music history and the lifeblood of performers today.

Musicians spend so much time here, it’s no wonder French Quarter streets, sites and people gets celebrated in song.

Here’s a list of famous, and infamous, songs that mention “Da Quarters.”

“Salee Dame” tells the tale of a woman who lives by La Rue Dauphine. You can just see her hips shaking when you listen to this version by the Creole Jazz Serenaders. (Thanks American Routes and Nick Spitzer.)

The French Quarter is alive with music this weekend as the 30th annual French Quarter Festival kicks into high gear.

Music has been central to the identity of New Orleans from the earliest years of the city's founding, and a casual stroll through the streets of the French Quarter will bring you past centuries of tangible music history.

While you're down in the Quarter for the Festival, or any time at all, make sure you don't miss these landmarks.

The Vieux Carré will become ground zero this week as the French Quarter Festival — the largest free music festival in the southeast — kicks off its 30th anniversary celebration with four days of music.

We sat down with Marci Schramm, the festival’s executive director, to learn more about what’s on tap for this year’s festivities.

This week host Diane Mack goes Inside the Arts for a sneak peek at French Quarter Festival in the Vieux Carré, and talks with members of the New Orleans Nightingales who are set to perform at the Fest.

Plus, a look back at World's Fairs in the exhibit Inventing the Modern World, now on view at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Find out where it's all at this weekend with this map of the 2013 French Quarter Festival.

The map highlights music stages, bars and clubs with performances, and everything from food booths to restrooms to ATM locations. You can click on the map for a larger version, or download the map here.